Signing of peace agreement

Описание: (22 Feb 2002)

1. Velupillai Prabaharan, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elan (LTTE) leader, arriving at office
2. Various of Prabaharan signing the peace agreement, accompanied by Tamil Chalvan, LTTE political leader
2. Various of Sri Lankan prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe arriving at border of area controlled by Tamil Tigers, with Defence Minister Tihilak Marapana
3. Various of Wickremesinghe and Marapana talking to army officers at the border post
4. Wickremesinghe and Marapana arriving at government agent's office in Vauniya
5. Wickremesinghe handing peace documents to Norwegian ambassador Jon Westborg
6. Wickremesinghe and Westborg sit down to applause
7. Naval officer listening watching
8. Westborg talking
9. Armed forces listening to Wickmesinghe making speech
10. SOUNDBITE (Sinhala) Ranil Wickmesinghe, Sri Lankan Prime Minister:
"We are trying this peace accord. From here onwards, the Norwegians and other countries will be monitoring this so that no-one will be able to violate its conditions."
11. Armed forces listening

STORYLINE:

The Sri Lankan government and minority Tamil rebels signed a long-term cease-fire agreement Friday in a crucial step toward peace talks to end their 18-year civil war, the government and Norwegian mediators said.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe handed the agreement to Norwegian Ambassador Jon Westborg after visiting a military checkpoint where rebels had planted white flags to mark the cease-fire.

The Norwegian government, which had spent more than two years trying to get the two sides to talk about ending a war that has killed more than 65,000 people, also announced that a 10-page cease-fire agreement had been signed.

The agreement which takes effect on Saturday was signed by Wickremesinghe and Vellupillai Prabhakaran, the elusive leader of the Tamil Tigers rebels.

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